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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/30078864">Be Here</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/KejfeBlintz/pseuds/KejfeBlintz'>KejfeBlintz</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Soft Boys [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Ambiguous Relationships, Cuddling &amp; Snuggling, Domestic Fluff, Gen, Hurt Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV), Hurt/Comfort</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 19:54:22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>972</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/30078864</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/KejfeBlintz/pseuds/KejfeBlintz</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“How do you feel? Really?” Ana asked.<br/>Eddie made the effort to open his eyes. “Like a building fell on me,” he said, cautiously moving to sit up properly. Ana reached out to help him but he waved her away. “I’ve had worse.”</p>
<p>Buck, Eddie, and the concussion protocol.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley &amp; Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Soft Boys [3]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2213055</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>174</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Be Here</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The knock on the door roused Eddie enough to make him grumble sleepily. The arms around him tightened a little then he felt himself being manhandled so that the warm body he was dozing against could slide out from under him. His complaints were hushed and he was propped against cushions as Buck went to answer the door. Eddie reluctantly blinked his eyes open and was greeted by Christopher’s happy smile.<br/>“Hey kid,” Eddie said, voice like gravel.<br/>“Do you feel better?” Chris asked, surrounded by Lego.<br/>Eddie took a second to check in with his body. Still nauseous, still had a headache, still foggy. Still concussed. “Getting there,” he said.<br/>“Hey, you got a visitor,” Buck said as he reentered the room. <br/>Eddie slowly turned to face him, confused. “Who?”<br/>“Hello Edmundo,” Ana greeted.<br/>It took Eddie’s scrambled brain a moment or two to figure out that Ana was standing in his living room holding two coffees and looking concerned. <br/>“Hey, what are you doing here?” he rasped.<br/>“You got injured so I wanted to check on you,” she replied, looking slightly uncomfortable. “I brought you coffee from that place down the street.”<br/>“Oh, uh-” Eddie started, then gave up and blinked at Buck.<br/>“That’s kind, but giving caffeine to the concussed is a bad idea,” Buck said. “I’ll take it to the kitchen.” Buck held out his hand expectantly so Ana handed it over. “Take a seat.”<br/>“Hi Ms Flores,” Christopher piped up from the floor as Ana perched on the edge of the sofa beside Eddie.<br/>Eddie listened to Ana and Christopher’s voices but not really taking in the words. He hated being concussed. He slumped back into the sofa cushions and closed his eyes, letting their chatter wash over him. There was a gentle squeeze of his shoulder.<br/>“I’m going to jump in the shower while you have some adult supervision, OK?” Buck said above him. Eddie nodded without opening his eyes, frowning as the action made his headache flare. A hand skimmed across his forehead in sympathy.<br/>“You can have more painkillers soon.” With another brief squeeze to his shoulder, Buck slipped out of the room.</p>
<p>“How do you feel? Really?” Ana asked.<br/>Eddie made the effort to open his eyes. “Like a building fell on me,” he said, cautiously moving to sit up properly. Ana reached out to help him but he waved her away. “I’ve had worse.”<br/>The sound of the shower reached them. “Buck seems very at home here,” Ana said. Eddie just hummed. “Did he stay here last night?”<br/>“Concussion protocol,” Eddie said, as if that explained everything.<br/>“Does this happen a lot?” Ana asked, taking his hand.<br/>“More than we’d like, although it’s usually Buck who’s injured,” Eddie said.<br/>“Buck gets hurt a lot,” Christopher added. “It’s because he’s a superhero.”<br/>Eddie huffed a laugh and agreed with a soft, “Yeah he is,”<br/>Silence settled over the room, broken only by Chris’ Lego bricks and the sounds of the shower running. <br/>“Can I get you anything?” Ana asked. Eddie shook his head and immediately regretted it, wincing as pain shot through his head. He caught Ana’s concerned expression.<br/>“I’m OK, really. It’ll suck for a couple of days but that’s all,” he reassured her.<br/>“I don’t like seeing you hurt,” Ana said quietly. <br/>Eddie squeezed her hand. “Occupational hazard,” he said.</p>
<p>Buck reappeared a few minutes later in clean clothes, hair still damp. “Doing OK?” he asked Eddie. Eddie just hummed and resisted the urge to reach out and pull Buck close enough to bury his face in the soft fabric of his t-shirt. He knew he got clingy when he felt rough and was irrationally grumpy at Ana turning up and ruining his morning plans of napping on Buck. <br/>“Hey bud, can you go pick up your laundry and dump it in the washer?” Buck asked Chris. Chris sighed dramatically. “Or not, and go to school naked. Your choice, kid.”<br/>“I’ll just wear your t-shirt,” Chris said, but levered himself to his feet. Eddie smiled as he listened to their interaction.<br/>“Oh you will, will you? And what am I supposed to wear? Your dad’s stolen my hoodie, you want my shirt, I’m not sure how I feel about this blatant Diaz thievery.”<br/>During Buck’s dramatics, Ana had turned to Eddie and looked more closely at the hoodie he was wearing. Eddie knew that she wouldn’t have picked up on it being Buck’s and Eddie felt suddenly uneasy with her scrutiny.<br/>“It’s warm,” he offered with an attempt at a shrug. He didn’t want to explain that it was one of his comfort items, that being surrounded by Buck made him feel safe and cared for. <br/>Ana waited until Buck and Chris had left the room, still bickering goodnaturedly, before letting go of Eddie’s hand with a sigh.<br/>“I’m going to head home, you don’t need me here,” she said.<br/>Eddie tried to rouse himself and reached out for her again. “I’m glad you stopped by,” he said.<br/>She kissed his cheek and stood up. “Feel better soon.”<br/>Watching her leave Eddie couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t quite right, but thinking was hard so he closed his eyes and slumped back into the sofa cushions again.</p>
<p>Eddie felt himself being manhandled again but was settled against a familiar broad chest before he could muster enough energy to complain.<br/>“Ana leave?” Buck’s question rumbled beneath his cheek. Eddie hummed and rubbed his face against the soft fabric of Buck’s t-shirt.<br/>“Chris?” he asked.<br/>“Right here, building a spaceship,” Buck replied, starting up a gentle scalp massage. Eddie melted into his touch, headache finally beginning to ease. “Go back to sleep, I’ll wake you in time for lunch.”<br/>Eddie tucked his face into the crook of Buck’s neck and drifted off.</p>
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